While some abbreviations and acronyms may be common across all social media sites, others are unique to the microblogging platform. Browse our guide, and be sure to shout out any terms we’ve missed in the comments below.

@

The “at” sign is used to mention another Twitter account (e.g., @Mashable). Within a tweet, it becomes a link to that user’s profile. You may see it used in a geographical sense, such as “I’m @ the office,” but this is just text-speak and not Twitter-specific.

#

The hash (or pound) symbol is used to highlight keywords, topics, events or even emotions in a tweet. Using a hashtag turns the word or phrase into a link that lets you see other tweets containing the same tag. Examples: “Loving the #weather,” “Watching the #SuperBowl,” “Headed to #SXSW,” “Long day — feeling #tiredandemotional.”

^

The caret, or hat sign, is used to denote a tweet composed and sent by an individual on behalf of a group account used by multiple people (often a company or organization) account. It usually appears at the end of a Tweet and precedes initials, to indicate which user sent the tweet (e.g., ^JS).

$

The dollar sign is used on Twitter before a company’s shortened stock market name/code as a kind of financial hashtag. For example, $AAPL (Apple), $GOOG (Google) and $MSFT (Microsoft). Within tweets, codes prefixed with the dollar sign will become links.

AFAIK

“As far as I know.”

CC

CC’s literal meaning is “carbon copy.” As with memos and emails, CC is a way of ensuring a Twitter user sees certain content. Used with an @ mention — for example, “Interesting article – www.urlurl.com – cc @Bob” — it will help draw a Tweet to someone’s attention.

CX

“Correction.”

DM

Direct message. A way to privately message someone who is following you on Twitter. As the only way to have a confidential conversation on the platform, it’s usual to see public tweets with “DM me for more info,” or “I’ll DM you details,” etc.

FF

#FF stands for “Follow Friday,” a way to give an endorsement or shout out to other Twitter users by suggesting that people follow them.

HT

Occasionally styled H/T, “hat tip” is a way to give a polite nod to the person who originally shared content you are tweeting. Similar to giving someone a “via” (which is a phrase also used on Twitter) a HT will be followed by an @ mention giving a namecheck. For example, “Useful article – www.urlurl.com. HT @Bob.” Some suggest the meaning is “heard through.” This is a less common definition, but is pretty much the same sentiment.

ICYMI

“In case you missed it.” Often employed when a Twitter user retweets his or her own content from earlier.

MM

“Music Monday” used to be a popular way to suggest music you were currently enjoying or artist recommendations. It isn’t used very often now, though you may still see a few #MM tweets at the start of the week.

MT or MRT

Modified tweet or modified retweet. This means the same as “retweet” but used to show that you’ve edited the original tweet, usually due to space restrictions.

NSFW

“Not safe for work.” This term denotes potentially inappropriate or graphic content.

OH

“Overheard.” Although in the wider world, OH is more likely to mean “other half,” on Twitter, it’s a way of reporting a humorous or eyebrow-raising comment.

PRT

Partial retweet. A way of letting people know you’ve edited a tweet. Can also mean “please retweet.”

RLRT

Real life retweet. Similar to OH, RLRT is used when you tweet a notable quote from someone “in real life.”

RT

Retweet. Forwarding another user’s tweet, usually with an added comment, letting the “RT” abbreviation mark the end of the forwarder’s comment and the start of the original tweet, e.g., “Must watch! RT @Bob: This video is cool www.urlurl.com.”

SMH

Shake/shaking my head. An expression of disbelief or disappointment. Can also be used to express puzzlement — “scratching my head” — although this is a less popular usage.

TFTF

“Thanks for the follow.”

TIL

“Today I learned…”

TLDR or TL;DR

“Too long; didn’t read.” Can be used literally to indicate content that was too lengthy to wade through to the end. However, the term is more likely to be used in banter, or as a dismissive comment or insult.

TMB

“Tweet me back.”

TQRT

“Thanks for the retweet.”

TT

Translated tweet: a warning that an original tweet has been translated to a different language.

I like #5, especially as it relates to people thinking they can create their own websites.

5) DIY Doesn’t Really Save Money.

Because you’re not spending money on outside resources you might think you’re saving tons of money with a DIY approach. Just remember this…it’s not just what you spend, it’s what you spend and get backon what you spend.

Great marketing will get you back more, and sometimes significantly more, than what you spend. So, how do you get great marketing? You find and hire great marketing people, like Steve Jobs did, like Nike’s Phil Knight did, and like every successful business owner does. And, they didn’t just do it when they were big successful companies with huge marketing budgets. They did it from the very beginning of their companies, only months after they incorporated.

You also have to factor in what your time is worth. It’s not cheap. If you kept track of every minute you spent trying to do it yourself and applied a dollar value to that, you’d be surprised at the expense. Also realize that every expensive minute you spend fumbling with something you don’t do great is taking away valuable time and talent from something you do do great. That’s another expense.

In brief: The survey by the Internet Advertising Bureau of over 4500 people states “… that social media can drive ROI by driving brand sentiment, encouraging consumer engagement and increasing brand loyalty….four out of five consumers would be more inclined to buy a brand more after being exposed to their social media, with 83 per cent happy to trial the product…”

Ian Ralph, who conducted the research, says, “…to create an emotional connection brands really need to provide clear, timely and, most important of all, relevant content that develop a conversation. Interestingly, we also found that brands really shouldn’t be afraid about having their products on show and of linking up their social media activities to their business objectives. Social media has the potential to turn brand customers into brand fans. By making people love, not just like your brand, you’re more likely to drive future purchases and increase sales.”